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46.7 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds employed in July 2020, down 9.5 percentage points from July 2019
August 24, 2020
Youth employment grows sharply between April and July each year. During these months, many high school and college students take summer jobs, and graduates enter the labor market for permanent employment. In July 2020, there were 17.5 million employed 16- to 24-year-olds. Between April and July, the number of employed youth rose by 4.4 million, or 33.5 percent. This was the largest April to July employment change among youth since data began in 1948. The change, however, reflected both the seasonal pattern of youth finding jobs and some economic activity resuming after the deep job losses in March and April related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the employment increase, there were fewer youth employed in July than in February 2020, before the pandemic unfolded in many parts of the United States. The employment–population ratio for youth—the proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds with a job—was 46.7 percent in July 2020. That was down 9.5 percentage points from July 2019.
Employment–population ratios of 16- to 24-year-olds in July, 2004–20, not seasonally adjusted
Year
Total
Men
Women
White
Black or African American
Asian
Hispanic or Latino
2004
58.9%
62.0%
55.8%
62.8%
42.4%
47.8%
54.6%
2005
59.3
61.6
57.0
62.8
44.7
46.7
54.1
2006
59.2
61.9
56.5
63.3
43.5
42.8
55.2
2007
58.0
60.3
55.6
61.7
43.0
45.6
52.5
2008
56.0
57.9
54.2
59.7
41.2
46.4
50.5
2009
51.4
52.2
50.5
55.2
36.4
41.3
46.5
2010
48.9
49.9
48.0
53.0
34.4
37.9
43.6
2011
48.8
50.2
47.3
52.3
34.6
40.5
42.9
2012
50.2
51.9
48.4
53.5
38.9
37.4
46.5
2013
50.7
51.7
49.6
54.3
38.6
39.2
47.4
2014
51.9
53.6
50.1
55.4
39.8
40.8
47.0
2015
52.7
53.9
51.4
55.8
44.7
39.8
49.1
2016
53.2
54.9
51.5
56.5
42.7
38.8
49.8
2017
54.8
56.1
53.4
57.2
46.9
42.7
50.9
2018
55.0
55.2
54.8
58.0
47.2
39.7
51.7
2019
56.2
57.3
55.1
58.9
49.8
41.0
51.3
2020
46.7
47.7
45.8
49.5
39.2
32.0
42.6
Employment–population ratios in July 2020 were lower than in July 2019 for young men and women, Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics. For these groups, the employment–population ratios were between 8.7 and 10.6 percentage points lower than in July 2019.
United States Department of Labor
